Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
JACKSON — Saturday was a gut check for Zane Trace.
Before tip-off, the last time the Pioneers had taken the floor, they squandered a 15-point lead in a loss to its rival, Unioto.
And, all of a sudden, in a six-hour time frame, they went from preparing for Minford to throwing caution to the wind and facing a stiffer test.
Turns out, it was just the “pick-me-up” they needed.
With three players scoring in double figures, the Pioneers cleared a major hurdle and earned a huge 60-50 victory over Portsmouth in the Inaugural SOSA Basketball Classic at Jackson High School.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“This one all came down to Coach [Tyler Cassidy]. He puts in an ungodly amount of time to make sure that we’re as prepared as possible,” Zane Trace’s Brice Johnson said. “Going through film and making packets for us to study … We had shoot around, went through some plays and he had us ready.”
Johnson, who earned himself MVP honors for the game, was the ultimate X-factor that the Trojans simply didn’t have an answer for.
His play off the bench in the second half changed the dynamic of the game as he finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
But early on, it was Grady Stewart who had the green light with no issue putting the ball up. He buried a pair of 3’s and a layup, scoring the opening eight ZT points for an 8-4 lead.
Gunnar McCullough later added three points the hard way, only for Portsmouth’s Logan Adkins to splash a triple on the other end, followed by a rebound and put back from Daequan Woods to tie the game at 11-11.
Zane Trace (16-4) scored the next two buckets, but Portsmouth ended with a triple from Connie Thomas and a layup at the buzzer from Woods to take a 16-15 lead.
Johnson scored on a turnaround jumper early in the second, but the Trojans (11-8) answered with baskets from Mehki Berry and Woods for a 21-17 advantage.
Stewart then scored inside before connecting from 3-point land before finding McCullough inside for the bucket to cap a 7-0 run, putting ZT back on top at 24-21. He splashed another 3 before McCullough scored again, allowing the Pioneers to maintain a 29-28 advantage at the break.
“That all comes down to leadership, and Grady and Gunnar do a great job of leading us night in and night out,” Johnson said. “They hold us accountable just like the coaches do, help us adjust as we need to on the court, and we follow their lead.”
Thomas opened the third with a triple, only for McCullough to get three points the hard way on the other end to take back the lead. Later, with the score at 36-35, McCullough scored and then Johnson took center stage.
He proceeded to score the next eight straight Pioneer points, including a pair of put backs to spark a 10-3 run, giving Zane Trace a 46-38 edge after three.
Johnson opened the fourth with a basket, followed by scores from McCullough, Roman Berry and Lantz Stevens for an 8-1 run that pushed the lead to 54-39.
That was more than enough momentum to close out the win.
“This is a great win, but we have to continue keeping our foot on the gas,” Johnson said. “Putting in the work on the weekends, keeping our same routines, which have gotten us to where we are on the season, and keep the ball rolling.”
McCullough finished the night with 21 points and four rebounds, followed by 18 points, four rebounds and three assists from Stewart. Johnson, as mentioned, had 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
For Portsmouth, Thomas finished with 17 points and five rebounds, and Adkins added 14 points and four boards.
Zane Trace picked up a 45-41 victory over Westfall on Tuesday, and returns to action on Friday at Huntington. Portsmouth, meanwhile, defeated South Point on Tuesday before falling to Ironton on Wednesday. The Trojans are back in action on Friday as well, hosting Chesapeake.
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